Europe in 2020. Towards a new golden century, a silver century, and back to the middle ages
Marcel Bullinga, who is the person behind the Dutch foresight consultancy Futurecheck, has written an open letter to Thomas Friedman, Jeremy Rifkin and Richard Florida, in which he outlines his vision for 2020.
Bullinga positions his ideas about the future in a provocative, in-your-face style, which some may like, others less so. His direct approach is also obvious from his tendency to share his views as open letters (see also his open letter to Bill Gates and Larry Page). For those interested, here he goes:
“Dear Mr. Friedman, Rifkin and Florida,
Yes indeed, you are right. The world is getting flatter and we need technology, creativity and talented people to survive. We have to deal with wealth worldwide, not poverty anymore. Europe possesses a very strong and very positive legacy. It can and will survive 2020, but it is necessity, not choice, that will drive us. We lose low and high end jobs, disappearing into the technology and into other countries. We lose our educational strength. Europe is too rich and too lazy. Europe needs a dream, a focus. Please permit me — an independent European futurist, a native of the old continent, and proud of it — to outline European survival in 2020.”
